Self (archive footage)
By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits - "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and more - over a 10-year period.
The story of Pixar's early short films illuminates not only the evolution of the company but also the early days of computer animation, when a small group of artists and scientists shared a single computer in a hallway, and struggled to create emotionally compelling short films.
Self
A look at the first years of Pixar Animation Studios - from the success of "Toy Story" and Pixar's promotion of talented people, to the building of its East Bay campus, the company's relationship with Disney, and its remarkable initial string of eight hits. The contributions of John Lasseter, Ed Catmull and Steve Jobs are profiled. The decline of two-dimensional animation is chronicled as three-dimensional animation rises. Hard work and creativity seem to share the screen in equal proportions.
Director
A compilation of five early Pixar shorts.
Modeling
There's nothing like a restful nap in a pleasant wooded valley. But when André awakens and is greeted by a pesky yellow-and-black striped insect with a nasty stinger, he ends up taking a quick (and painful) hike.
Writer
There's nothing like a restful nap in a pleasant wooded valley. But when André awakens and is greeted by a pesky yellow-and-black striped insect with a nasty stinger, he ends up taking a quick (and painful) hike.
Director
There's nothing like a restful nap in a pleasant wooded valley. But when André awakens and is greeted by a pesky yellow-and-black striped insect with a nasty stinger, he ends up taking a quick (and painful) hike.
Producer
There's nothing like a restful nap in a pleasant wooded valley. But when André awakens and is greeted by a pesky yellow-and-black striped insect with a nasty stinger, he ends up taking a quick (and painful) hike.
Other
Experimental computer animation from pioneering artist Ed Emshwiller.
